Review of Prelude to a Scandal by Delilah Marvelle + Giveaway

We are delighted to welcome today historical romance author Delilah Marvelle who will share with us her review of her own book: Prelude to a Scandal! It’s not everyday that you can read a review written by the author of the book themselves, so I hope you’ll enjoy this unprecedented review! Stay tuned till the end for your chance to win a signed copy of Prelude to a Scandal, the first book in Delilah’s new historical romance series!

Delilah Marvelle reviews her own book, Prelude to a Scandal

I’m good at shredding myself apart and what better way than to do it publicly? Heh. Okay, so let me start with why I wrote PRELUDE TO A SCANDAL and break it down from there. I wrote this book because after reading Casanova’s memoires and MY SECRET LIFE, I realized that these two men had serious sexual issues similar to what we today call sex addiction. And so my hero, Bradford, was born. Writing a hero who was going to be a sex addict was stepping into territory I knew a lot of historical romance readers were going to cringe at. Yes, the hero is a bit of a pervert. It’s his dark side. It’s his addiction and doesn’t make him likeable at all. The man had to grow on me, actually, and I struggled to better understand him while incorporating the reality of sexual addiction. Sex addiction is like any other form of addiction. It includes mood swings, binges, secretly hiding one’s addiction from loved ones and self-esteem issues. Most addicts can’t and won’t admit to there being a problem until it severely impacts them and those around them. In Bradford’s case, it was seeing a woman brutally raped and having his face sliced open that made him realize his life was getting out of control. So…let’s get cracking on my review, shall we?

From Goodreads: Lady Justine is willing to trade her good name, her reputation and her place in London’s gossip-hungry ton to secure her father’s release from prison. But when the notorious Duke of Bradford counters her offer with a proposal of marriage, the stakes grow higher still. For while the smoldering lord is famous for his conquests, the man is oblivious to both her devotion and her charms. And Justine is soon afraid she has wagered all for naught….

Review: I like this book. I don’t love it (my favorite books are actually ONCE UPON A SCANDAL and THE PERFECT SCANDAL), but I do like it. It’s the funniest out of all three books and has a little more bite than the rest. I like what it turned into despite the fact that I’m restrained by the historical romance box. I had to sugar coat things, because addiction is not something that can be tied in a pretty bow and set aside, but honestly, I tried not to sugar coat very much. Which will make people squirm. But hey, if you don’t squirm while reading about a sex addict, then I’m not doing a very good job about infusing reality into the story, am I? I interviewed several sex addicts in order to really dig into the head of my hero and boy was that ever eye opening. Very little hero material to work with. But then I love a good challenge. I eventually ended up loving Bradford because he tries SO HARD (no pun intended…) to be a good man and that’s what makes me give into loving him despite his addiction.

Okay, so, screw ups. I kick myself for not having fixed one particular boo-boo and that is, it took three weeks for the heroine to get to Africa. Not a measly two. Grumble, grumble. There’s always something and I do so much research it starts to blur. I was supposed to change it, but between editing all three books and having only a week at a time to do it, it just kind of turned into a blur. The joys of being a writer, I suppose. Nothing is ever perfect and nothing ever will be and readers are more than happy to point it out to you, lol.

Overall, I give my book a 4 out of 5 stars. Why? Because I had to sugar coat the issues to make it fit into the historical romance genre. I’m learning that despite my love and passion for writing romance, in the world of romance itself there is a cliff some readers aren’t willing to jump off of. My goal is to try to convince readers that jumping off a cliff is a good thing. Though I certainly have my work cut out for me, lol.

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Giveaway

As noted above Delilah is offering 2 signed copies of her book Prelude to a Scandal to 2 lucky commenters

You’re also getting an extra entry for the main giveaway if you entered our Big Blogoversary Giveaway here.

All you have to do is either leave a comment regarding Delilah’s review (if you have read Prelude to a Scandal maybe share your thoughts and whether you agree with Delilah) or just ask Delilah a question.

(Email in blogger profile or twitter name – no way to contact you – no entry).

This giveaway is open worldwide!

Giveaway ends on Friday February 4th and we will announce the winner on Sunday.

Copyright 2010-11 Book Lovers Inc.

About Caro The HEA Lover

Caroline is a HEA loving, yarn addicted French who's desperately hoping to get a HEA of her own. If she's not reading then she can be found knitting while listening to Audiobooks or watching Tv shows. Her secret addiction is reading websites that make fun at other people's expense (DYAC, Failbook)! Caroline also blogs at the Secret HEA Society with Susi.

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54 Comments

Ohh ok i'm very curious about the 'non sugar-coated' side of it. But i'm a romance lover first and i'm not sure I could bear the truth LOL

I really like the hero and his struggles, you did a great job at showing how hard it was for him. I did enjoy reading Prelude to a Scandal…A LOT! I just couldn't stop reading. Now I'm all excited about starting book 2 *g*Thank you for agreeing to review your book Delilah.

Great post! As an author how do you come to terms with a finished book that has a mistake that wasn't corrected. Can you ever let go of the need to be perfect? Or do the little mistakes drive you crazy?

What an interesting review, Delilah. It was a good review and now that I know more I believe I will read the book. I’m curious as to why you merely like this book, but love the other two books in your trilogy. (Sounds like Mommy is picking favorites here!) What gives?(Email in profile.)

I can't wait to read this book. I would really like to see more of Bradford and if he overcomes his sexual addiction. I like that you decided to write about a topic that isn't written about much in romance. I like being able to see different stories.

Hmm, the review sounds interesting. I like historical romances, so probably I will like Prelude to a Scandal once I read it (because I'm sure I will read it =)). I just can't decide if this "sex addition" and "pervert" mean a very passionately lovemaking or it doesn't xD Thanks for the giveaway =)mikki-mano @ hotmail . com

HHHmmm interesting. I can't wait to get my hands on this book now. I was interested in it before with the little bit i read about it elsewhere now i do believe i need to get my hands on a copy of this. I see this is part of a series, when are the other books being released so I know if i want to buy it and read it now or wait till all three are released and read them back to back to back?

I love romance books although I have to admit haven't read this author as yet. It sounds like a very interesting read and it wasa very honest review by the author. I would be very interested to see how the sex addiction is covered in a historical work and hopefully if I am chosen a winner I will get the chance to find out.

Hello, Delilah! A new romance series from the "Marvelous Ms. Marvelle" is indeed a cause for celebration. Your amazing, intriguing, "nothing held back" review has made us all sit up and take notice! Now we all must read "Prelude to a Scandal" to see if we agree with your self-review. Will you self-review again, if asked? Would you recommend self-review to others? I wish you much peace and prosperity in this new year!

This books sounds like a wonderful read and your review makes me want to read it even more! I love humorous books and I enjoy how you point out you want to try to get readers to leave their comfort zone and try something different. That's what I love to do, especially when some books tend to blur together as time goes by.

Delilah, I have to confess that you gripped me with your author's note at the beginning of Prelude. I found it intriguing to see that instead of giving us a usual, already explored plot you went and explored a bit controversal and completely unheard idea. I mean a sex addict hero! And I LOVED how you portrayed his suffering and I actually understood that this serisouly could be a sickness, which until now I thought that sex addictin was only an excuse used by those who couldn't remain faithful and stay monogamous. So thanks for such a novel and interesting idea, and I'm really looking forward to reading Book 2 and 3! 🙂

I'm not sure you should take off points for having "sugar coated" the issues, after all it is a romance book, you weren't writing a historical novel or biography. I think you're being a little hard on yourself, but I love that you gave your own book a review – that's so very unusual.

@Sara, yes, I did interview one female sex addict. A lot of the behavioral and psychological impacts were very similar. It was sad and fascinating to see how it impacts their lives and others. And yes, it's more common in males. And about more than half of the sex addicts actually turn to more aggresive means of addiction, meaning rape and molestation. Obviously I played with the lesser evil…

@hotcha12, welcome to the Shred Delilah Club, lol. I'm getting used to it.

@GeishasMom73, I'm actually trying to let go of my need for perfection but it's very, very hard, because I'm anal about getting things done a certain way. Drives me crazy but if I keep at it, no book will ever leave my desk, lol.

@Johanna, Thanks for posting!!!

@LSUReader, lol, mommy is picking faves. What gives? It has to do with more than sugar coating. It has to do with the amount of time I had with the book. I would have liked more time with all the books, actually, but the first one, I had the least amount of time on because of things going on in my life and trying to meet the deadline.

@Danielle G., So thrilled to hear you're up for something different! Be careful what you wish for, though, lol.

@Mikki-Mano, I really walked the line between addiction and pervert. Because the addiction is gritty as heck and when it comes to romance, we try to make our heroes heroic and strong, not weak and pathetic and perverted, lol.

@Jeana, It is part of a series and they come out back to back. Book 2, Once Upon a Scandal just came out today! And Book 3, The Perfect Scandal will be coming out Feb. 15th. All the books are connected, not by characters but by an object.

@Amanda, Thanks for posting! My fingers are crossed you find out 😛

@Virginia, thank you! And YES I would totally self review again. It was really eye opening to sit down and think about my book, stepping back from what I know it is and translate it into what I think it is.

@Chelsea, thank you! Yes, the covers ROCK. I had HQN to thank. They did an amazing job and really brought out the characters for each book.

@Jeanette8042, thank you for posting and it sounds like you're my kind of reader 🙂

@Estella, great question. And no, there was no treatment for sexual addiction in 1829. They didn't really understand what it was. Sex addicts were just rakes. Which is what drew me into writing the story even more.

@Buddyt, oh, totally!!! Female addicts totally existed. Except back in those times they were referred to as whores, lol.

@Yvonne, thank you! Trailblazing leaves burn marks on one's hands and feet but I wouldn't trade these burns for anything in the world.

@Stella, Thank you! I'm so, so thrilled you not only picked up Prelude but that you enjoyed it! *clapping hands*

@Robin K, Yay for cliff jumpers! Someone hand this girl my book, lol.

@Margay, How do I come up with my characters? Most of the time, I'd say, I don't know how, lol, but really, I do so much historical research, I come across characters all the time. I have a tendency to create my characters around real figures in history by combining them with various characteristic. And the rest is in my head…

@Jane, I'm really hoping my current publisher or another publisher will give me an opportunity to finish the School of Gallantry series. It's always hard to take a series elsewhere. Publishers want a series to start with them and end with them. But fingers crossed that'll change!

@Barbara E, Thank you!!! Yes, all authors are hard on themselves. We have to be in order to create books worth both our time and effort as well as the reader's time and effort. I'm still new at this game and growing with each book and by being tough on myself I make sure everyone gets the best of me 🙂

I know I'm in the minority, but I have absolutely no problem with darker subjects being raised in a romance. I usually alternate between romance and UF just because I need that darkness occasionally.

Regarding your other series that isn't finished, if you can't find a publisher, you should consider self-publishing the remaining book(s). Especially if it already has an audience, you could probably do pretty well with it and because you get to keep most of the revenue, you can set the price lower to attract more readers who haven't otherwise heard of you.

What a fascinating premise – I'm pretty curious to find out what happens now.

Would the heroine be a bit worried about not living up to expectations if she's with a former sex addict? If he's not interested will she take it more personally? If he says the sex is good, can she believe him?

So many interesting questions – I'm looking forward to finding out the answers.

sugar coat to the issue?it's kind funny to sugar coat. ;p interesting review.actually that is quite modest to give 4 because whenever I browse the Goodreads, most authors gave their own book a 5!no sarcasm here, just glad to know.And yes, I love historical romance.This could be a great collection too.LOL Thanks!

Omgosh, I was supposed to come back and answer again, wasn't I? I'm such a bad guest!!! LOL

Thank you to EVERYONE — @Diane, @Teril, @Kaya H, @JenM — I may go down that route, though I'm still holding out that a publisher will finish the series 🙂 — @Cindy L, @Pamela Fryer, @Kaetrin, @Marybelle, @Danielle from Romance Book Junkies, @Carrie from In The Hammock Blog, @Tore, @Winnie, @Amy, @NicoleSender, @ClaudiGC, @Blodeuedd, @Darlyn, @Maureen, @Diane, @mbreakfield, @Aleetha, @Lindseye) Thanks all for posting even though I stopped answering, lol. You people rock!

In answer to specific questions…@BLHmistress, what other genre would I write in if I could? I'd say paranormal. LOVE that genre. Jessa Slade is one of my new faves.

@Sugar, yes, I was nervous as heck interviewing a bunch of sex addicts…but they were just as nervous being interviewed and so we found a common ground. Only one agreed to a phone interview. the rest wanted to keep it to email, which I totally understood.Aside from their "addiction" they were really nice. I was expecting freaks, lol, but they didn't act like freaks.

@Sheree, I totally hear you. I'm squeemish myself, so you won't see me going too much off the deep end, lol.

@Natalie23, I haven't abandoned an idea yet (thank God), but you never know when my luck is going to run out… 😉